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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947037">Do Androids Dream of Electric Doughnuts?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/withcoffeespoons/pseuds/withcoffeespoons'>withcoffeespoons</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Detroit: Become Human Fusion, Androids, Gen, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Wire Play, android!Ryan, sexual awakening</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:08:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,414</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/withcoffeespoons/pseuds/withcoffeespoons</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When you could create an image of perfection, why mess with it? Who would make an android with a crooked nose and a receding hairline?</p><p>“Oh,” Ryan said brightly. “Yeah, I’m the IT guy sent by Cyberlife!”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeremy Dooley/Ryan Haywood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This chapter is rated T.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy, to be completely honest, did not care for those new androids.</p>
<p>Call him old fashioned. He liked people that looked like people, and he liked technology that did not. And sure, maybe they made life easier sometimes, but like he’d told Gavin, if Jeremy wanted someone to clean up after him, or to fuck, he’d be married by now.</p>
<p>Christ, that made him sound like an asshole.</p>
<p>It worked for some people, Jeremy supposed. Gavin had his android, which he called Michael. Did they come with names, or did Gavin name him? Jeremy had never asked.</p>
<p>To be fair, he’d kind of made it a point to Gavin that saying anything about his stupid android was off limits. They’d been at odds with one another going on a week before Jeremy would even admit he was pissed about it. It just seemed so ridiculous at the time—Gavin just throwing money around because he could, and because he was lazy, and because he liked to be on the cutting fucking edge of new tech.</p>
<p>Except Jeremy had met Michael, once, when he picked Gavin up for drinks one Saturday night. He looked...normal. Michael took care of Gavin’s house, read him his e-mails, tidied up after him, and as far as Jeremy was aware—which he made a concentrated effort not to be—he did not fuck Gavin.</p>
<p>At first glance, Jeremy could see how someone could mistake one of them for human. If it weren’t for the LED, or for the blank, expectant, mostly-pleasant look about him, he might expect Michael to be just another friend of Gavin’s. And then, while waiting for Gavin to fetch his wallet, Jeremy had tried to make conversation with it. It became abundantly clear that Michael had a wholly unremarkable personality, if you could even call it that.</p>
<p>So fuck him for making the mistake of believing that was just an android thing, because it wasn’t until Ryan, the new AH IT guy, crawled out from under the desk after an hour of digging around in Jeremy’s computer, that he realized—</p>
<p>“Holy shit, you’re one of them.”</p>
<p>Ryan’s LED blinked yellow as a puzzled look shadowed his face. And it was a handsome face, eyes a piercing blue, round cheeks angling over neat stubble along his jawline. Jeremy wondered if this model was the original design, or if someone had decided at some point in production that it looked a little too perfect.</p>
<p>When you could create an image of perfection, why mess with it? Who would make an android with a crooked nose and a receding hairline?</p>
<p>“Oh,” Ryan said brightly. “Yeah, I’m the IT guy sent by Cyberlife!”</p>
<p>Holy shit, Jeremy was an idiot. When Geoff had told him Cyberlife was sending over a specialist, this was not what Jeremy had pictured. He’d assumed Ryan was a Cyberlife employee, not a Cyberlife creation.</p>
<p>He still wasn’t entirely convinced this wasn’t some big joke at his expense. Jeremy had been chatting with Ryan for the past hour, and he’d sounded...normal. They’d talked about video games, and TV, and—hang on. “How the hell do you know what a kolache tastes like if you can’t eat?”</p>
<p>Ryan laughed, an abrupt, full sound. In it, Jeremy imagined he heard regret. “I don’t. I just think I’d like them.”</p>
<p>“You can do that? Have, uh, preferences?” Did androids have a favorite food? Wasn’t that something like Jeremy having a favorite rock? He knew they existed in the world, but they didn’t do anything for him personally.</p>
<p>Ryan just shrugged, his face contorting into something comically unsure, as though that was answer enough.</p>
<p>“No, hang on. Someone programmed you. Someone way smarter than me looked at you and thought, doughnuts.”</p>
<p>Ryan flattened his hand over his soft stomach, and patted it twice with a grin.</p>
<p>“What the actual fuck.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Do you even know what Minecraft is?”</p><p>Ryan smirked. “I’m a very fast learner.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is rated T.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy didn’t see Ryan again until the end of the next day. It was late enough that Jeremy’s stomach was rumbling a plea for food, but he’d fallen behind on editing lately, and there was nothing like a deadline of “tomorrow” to motivate him.</p><p>“Oh, hey, Jeremy,” Ryan said, his head barely through the doorway. He was awkward, y’know, if an android could be awkward. There must have been something in his programming about making him seem disarming, unassuming, approachable.</p><p>Jeremy had been doing some research. Ryan was a retail model, created for human interaction and customer service. Jeremy had seen some in shops—he was just grateful Ryan didn’t have the Customer Service Voice.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Jeremy asked. He hadn’t meant to sound so rude, but, well, did it matter so much if he did? It wasn’t like Ryan had feelings that could be hurt. </p><p>“Gus wanted me to do some server maintenance. Back up some files. It uh, took longer than I estimated.” He almost sounded ashamed, rubbing the back of his neck as he entered the room properly. “What about you?” Ryan asked.</p><p>Jeremy yawned. “Editing. I’d just call it a night and pick it up tomorrow, but this Minecraft has to be ready by tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Well, I could do it.”</p><p>Jeremy blinked at the android. “The edit? Have you even used editing software before?" Thinking on it, he added, "Do you even know what Minecraft is?”</p><p>Ryan smirked. “I’m a very fast learner.”</p><p>"Christ." He hesitated. Okay, so the thing was, Jeremy had made plans to go out with friends that night, and it would be really cool if he didn’t have to cancel on them because of work. But at what point did this cross some line into the automation of Jeremy’s job? At what point was this cheating?</p><p>“You need to rest, right? I don’t sleep,” Ryan pointed out. “If it makes you feel better, we can call it a favor.”</p><p>Jeremy almost laughed. “That’s not the issue, I assure you.” He scrubbed his palm across his face. “Fuck it. You know what? Yeah. Have at it.”</p><p>Ryan beamed.</p><p><em>Weirdo</em>.</p><p>Jeremy grabbed his bag and made for the door.</p><p>“Jeremy?”</p><p>“What’s up?” he replied, pausing.</p><p>Ryan chewed his lip for a moment. Instead of looking at Jeremy, he kept his eyes on Jeremy’s screen. “Never mind.”</p><p>“Uh, okay. Goodnight, and uh. Thanks Ryan.”</p><p> </p><p>Jeremy walked in the next morning, more rested than he had felt in weeks. He’d gone out for drinks with his buddies and still made it home and in bed by ten o’clock, his cat curled up at his feet all night.</p><p>There it was, the edited file, rendered and labeled appropriately on his desktop, backed up on the server, and nothing about it seemed in any way out of place. It was as though Ryan had taken one look at their filing system and known exactly how to match it.</p><p>Well, Jeremy considered, that’s probably exactly what he did.</p><p>He skimmed through it, making sure there weren’t any rendering errors, desynced audio, the usual suspects. It truly seemed that Ryan had delivered on his word. <em>A favor</em>.</p><p>Nothing about the edit screamed, “DONE BY A MACHINE,” and Jeremy even noticed a touch of humor that fell in line with his own editing style.</p><p>Of course Ryan had probably matched that, too.</p><p> </p><p>They were in the middle of recording the next Minecraft before lunch, as usual, and without warning, Jeremy heard Ryan’s voice over the mic. “Hey Geoff, you should go south from there.</p><p>“Like a lot.”</p><p>“Why?” Geoff asked. Jeremy was surprised he didn’t yell at Ryan to get out; then again, they weren’t filming anything time-sensitive.</p><p>“It’s a surprise,” Ryan said, “isn’t it, Jeremy?”</p><p>Jeremy pulled up his map to see what Ryan was talking about. “Wait.” Then it clicked. “Oh, you—how?!” Jeremy had hidden so many things in the Achievement City world, but they were <em>hidden</em>.</p><p>Ryan laughs, and Jeremy would swear it’s fucking evil. “You let me see your footage, Jeremy.”</p><p>Geoff cackles. “Ryan, if anybody asks, you can stay.”</p><p><em>Perfect</em>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm not writing in chronological order, so some of these chapters are going to be posted out of order—sorry for any confusion, and thanks so much for all the support. This is a fun romp.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"You got a boo-boo and almost electrocuted yourself because of it," Geoff summarized.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is rated T.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gavin nearly killed Ryan on a Thursday afternoon.</p><p>To Gavin's credit, it was an accident, and Ryan <em>did</em> tell him to do it.</p><p>The near-murder weapon of choice was the stupid stun gun knuckles some asshole fan had sent in. Gavin had been remarkably respectful about the whole thing, too, once Geoff had picked them up and shocked him while he was filming a GTA video with Jack, Ryan, and Jeremy.</p><p>The second he saw the knuckles in Gavin's hands, Jeremy had shot a rapid, "don't you fucking touch me with that," and to Jeremy’s surprise, he hadn't. Hadn't needled or whined about it either, which meant trouble was brewing in that head of his.</p><p>"Ryan," Gavin mused, dangerous curiosity in his voice, "would this absolutely destroy you?"</p><p>Ryan, across the room, hummed thoughtfully. It was a strange habit for an android, but he always did it when asked a question that made his LED flash yellow for a few seconds. An idling sound, Jeremy thought, while Ryan calculated or researched his answer. "My chassis is non-conductive, so no, unless it was inside me."</p><p>"Phrasing," Jeremy said on reflex, and laughter erupted from Geoff and Jack. Gavin squeaked along in amusement beside Jeremy.</p><p>Ryan looked puzzled for a moment before—was he blushing? Why would that even be part of his programming? But the evidence was clear on his rosy cheeks as the innuendo processed. "That would probably destroy me, too," he said, and holy shit, the android could spin a double entendre.</p><p>"Oh my god," Geoff cried. "Let's test this on a person, first. Gavin, bend over." Geoff sprang to chase Gavin around the room, but Jeremy still had eyes on Ryan's yellow blinking light.</p><p>When Gavin collapsed back into his seat, Ryan eyed him curiously. "Let's try it."</p><p>"Um, Ryan," Jeremy started, laughter edging his voice.</p><p>"Not that. The stun gun." The bastard was grinning.</p><p>"Will it hurt?" Geoff asked.</p><p>"I'm not capable of feeling pain. If I'm damaged, I can be repaired—hell I can probably repair myself in most cases." Times like this, Jeremy was reminded just how not human Ryan really was. "At the standard voltage, that thing has a zero-point-seven percent chance of causing significant damage."</p><p>"Significant?" Geoff asked. Jeremy's mouth felt dry.</p><p>"Anything you might have to call Cyberlife for."</p><p>"Jeremy," Geoff said, "grab the camera." So he did.</p><p>Geoff and Jack were debating what to title the video, while Gavin tested the stunner on himself, the sound a sharp <em>snap</em>, followed by Gavin's reflexive "Ghn!"</p><p>"Gavin. Stop," Jeremy said, already recording.</p><p>"I need to know what I'm gonna do to him."</p><p>Ryan leaned forward, so Jeremy panned over to include him in the shot. "Gavin, I won't feel it."</p><p>"Oh yeah," Gavin said, laughing at himself.</p><p>"Ready?" Jack called at last.</p><p>Ryan held up a hand. "Now, a little bit of Android Safety here: don't hold it too long, you might actually melt my non-conductive chassis."</p><p>Ryan never called himself plastic. Technically it was some kind of lightweight polymer that produced a skin-like texture...Jeremy had stopped listening around there when Ryan had explained. At first he thought Ryan just liked to stand on technicality, but Gavin admitted to Jeremy that he thought Ryan found the term offensive. Jeremy had accused him of personifying the android, but since Gavin pointed it out, he couldn't help but notice he was right—Ryan never used the word.</p><p>"Yeah, Gav, careful you don't melt Ryan's skin off," Geoff said.</p><p>Gavin's hand pulled out of frame. "Not helping, Geoffrey." He slowly reached out again, approaching Ryan's right arm, short sleeve rolled up to his shoulder so his bicep was showing. He had the slightest farmer's tan, a pale outline of his sleeve. Jeremy centered it in the shot.</p><p>Gavin punched forward, and several things happened in very rapid succession.</p><p><em>Snap!</em>—electricity arced between the knuckles and Ryan's arm.</p><p>Ryan stiffened.</p><p>His LED turned a hard red.</p><p>He made an ugly, gutteral "<em>gak!</em>" sound.</p><p>Ryan dropped limp to the floor, LED a steady white.</p><p>Gavin yanked his arm back, fumbled the switch the stunner off, and tossed it away from him on the floor. He was white as a sheet.</p><p>"Ryan!" It was impossible to tell who shouted his name first. Geoff and Jack dropped to check on the android. Gavin stood out of frame, hands shaking. Jeremy's stomach was doing flips.</p><p>There was a sharp, acrid smell of burning plastic in the room. Ryan could call it whatever he wanted, Jeremy knew what it smelled like.</p><p>0.7% no longer felt so insignificant.</p><p>"It was just a second." Gavin sounded so scared, so panicked, Jeremy thought for a second that he might cry.</p><p>"I know, buddy," Jeremy said. He hoped his words were comforting, but the effort of holding the camera in place was suddenly all he could focus on</p><p>Jack had his phone in hand, scrambling for the Cyberlife emergency line, while Geoff held Ryan's stiff hand, checking his arm where Gavin shocked him.</p><p>And then Ryan sat bolt upright. "<em>OWW</em>." He yelled the word like an accusation.</p><p>Geoff fell back on his ass, grousing quietly to Jack. Jack put his phone down, and his hand covered his heart like he was trying to keep it in place. Jeremy...Jeremy was acutely aware of how badly his hands were shaking.</p><p>"Well hell, Ryan, you said it wouldn't hurt!" Gavin yelled back. His cheeks were gaining color again. Anger was better than whatever had drained the color from Gavin’s face.</p><p>"Well, okay, so here's where it went wrong," Ryan began. He was speaking to the camera, but his blue eyes were locked with Jeremy's the whole time. Something about it set off the somersaults in his stomach, again. "I didn't think to run an integrity diagnostic before you introduced an electrical current. If I had, it would have caught that I have a scrape of exposed conductive material, and you kinda hit it dead on, Gavin."</p><p>"You got a boo-boo and almost electrocuted yourself because of it," Geoff summarized.</p><p>Ryan held up a finger. "Technically, Gavin actually <em>did</em> electrocute me. But yeah."</p><p>"Even our android is an idiot," Geoff said for the benefit of the camera. When Jeremy looked up, Geoff gestured for him to cut the video there. "Seriously though, Ryan, are you okay?"</p><p>"Did it actually hurt?" Jeremy colored at his own question; it sounded like something a child would ask.</p><p>Ryan frowned. "I'll run a full diagnostic tonight, make sure there's no lasting damage." He looked to Jeremy. "And while I might not feel pain, it was disorientating in a way that was not pleasant. It forced a reboot."</p><p>Christ. Jeremy was half-expecting Ryan to admit he'd fully played it up to make Gavin feel bad. Though one look at Gavin would be enough to see no effort was needed to pile guilt on him.</p><p>Ryan shifted his injured—no, his damaged arm, flexing and relaxing his fingers, his wrist, his elbow, and finally the shoulder. Jeremy watched for a moment before realizing it had to be a diagnostic exercise, testing range of motion, sensory damage, internal things a human body wouldn't find right away.</p><p>"Prelimim—inary testing indicates I'll be fine."</p><p>"So much for that solution to your flubbing," Geoff said.</p><p>Ryan already tripped over his words more than Jeremy thought androids were supposed to, which ultimately was never. It wasn’t the first time since his reboot that Ryan had done it, either, Jeremy noted.</p><p>Ryan frowned again. "I should probably run a diagnostic on my vocal processor anyway."</p><p>"Full diagnostic," Geoff reminded him. "I don't want to have to trade you in. You already know how to play GTA, and I don’t wanna have to break in a new one."</p><p>Gavin remained silent, sulking long enough that Geoff called it a day halfway through filming the next video. "We'll do it tomorrow, we're just fucking it up today anyway. Now we know how not to do it.” He walked over behind Gavin and ruffled his hair. “Gav, grab your stuff, I'll give you a ride. Meet you in the car."</p><p>Geoff was out first, followed by an eager Jack. Gavin hung back while Jeremy focused on packing his bag. Gavin called Ryan over, and Jeremy tried not to be obvious about eavesdropping, but his desk was right next to Gavin's; he didn’t see what choice he had. </p><p>"I feel really shit about it, Ryan. I'm glad you're okay, but I really am sorry."</p><p>Jeremy risked a glance at Ryan and—he looked awkward. Thinking on it, Jeremy couldn't remember the last time Gavin said the words "I'm sorry" to anyone. He was usually an oblivious motherfucker who said, "how can I make it up to you" before he'd apologize. And here he was giving an apology to an android who probably had no idea what to do with it.</p><p>"It was an accident,” Ryan said. “I'm sorry if I scared you."</p><p>Gavin picked something off his desk and fidgeted with it. "I like you an' all, Rye, but to be honest, I kept thinking, what if it were Michael. I wouldn't know how to do—anything."</p><p>Shit, Jeremy shouldn't be hearing this. It wasn't his business, he needed to go.</p><p>"I can teach you?" Ryan offered. "Just basic repair and maintenance, not emergency services. You'd need Cyberlife for that."</p><p>Gavin brightened immediately, and something ugly sank in Jeremy's gut.</p><p>Just leave, he told himself. Why should he care what Gavin did with his personal life? Why should he care if it included Ryan?</p><p>"Can you come tonight?"</p><p>Ryan hesitated. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremy saw that flashing yellow LED. "I told Geoff I'd run a full diagnostic tonight. I should really make that my first priority."</p><p>A disappointed, breathy sound escaped from Gavin before his phone trilled. "Gotta go, Geoffrey's waiting."</p><p>Gavin left quick, only highlighting the fact that Jeremy had no reason to still be there. "Jeremy, you good?" Ryan asked.</p><p>He was going to just say yes and go, except he asked, "It really didn't hurt?" Because even without having watched the video back, the image was stuck on a repeating loop behind his eyelids—the way Ryan's face had scrunched, his jaw clenching, before he rebooted.</p><p>"It's not in my programming to feel pain," Ryan said. Jeremy rolled his eyes and shouldered his bag. He didn’t know why he expected Ryan to say anything else. His hand was on the light switch when Ryan added, "But it felt a lot like I imagine pain would feel."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For context, this takes place several weeks (maybe months?) after Ryan's first appearance in AH, and after he's become a recognizable figure in videos. Timeline? What timeline?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ryan reached under his armpit to the nearly-invisible seam between panels, and tried not to think about how he was literally exposing the closest thing he had to a heart to the person in the office who liked him least.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is rated (a cautious) M.</p>
<p>This chapter takes place immediately after the previous one; I recommend reading it for context.</p>
<p>Big thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/redluna/pseuds/redluna">redluna</a> for the beta read on this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Ryan entered the office at a prompt 8:59, as was his fashion, to find a small red box on his keyboard. The box contained Band-Aids, printed with cartoon red robots.</p>
<p>He looked around the room—Geoff was in a meeting with Burnie until 10, Jack had texted in that he was running late, and Gavin was riding with Jack. Which left the only other person in the room—Jeremy.</p>
<p>It wasn't that the gift was offensive—in fact, it brought an easy smile to Ryan's face—but rather it's benefactor was...unlikely.</p>
<p>Ryan didn't know quite how to approach Jeremy. He was more guarded than the others, around Ryan, more prejudiced at times, but also the most positively receptive when Ryan did unexpected things. Ryan calculated a high probability that Jeremy didn't himself realize how often he shared a private grin with Ryan across the room.</p>
<p>Jeremy's headphones were already on, and he was intent on the video he was editing.</p>
<p>Ryan frowned at the Band-Aids instead of frowning at Jeremy. The retail seal had been broken. He opened the box and inside the top flap, Ryan recognized in Jeremy’s handwriting, written in Sharpie: <strong>For boo-boos</strong></p>
<p>Obediently, Ryan unwrapped a single robot-printed bandage, and adhered it over the scrape on his arm.</p>
<p>"Thanks," he said at the end of the day, once Jeremy was half out the door. It was Friday, and Ryan knew everyone else was eager for the weekend. He tried not to think about the loneliness of the power cradle in the RT basement.</p>
<p>Jeremy tilted his head at the android for a moment, phone in his hand as he searched for context. Helpfully, Ryan pointed to the bandage on his arm. Jeremy let out a laugh. "You didn't have to wear them."</p>
<p>It provided minimal protection to an area which had sustained an unlikely electrical shock. Ryan didn't even bother calculating the chances of it happening again, they were so small. Verbalizing any of this, however, would make him seem unappreciative of Jeremy's gift. "It's cute," Ryan said.</p>
<p>A smile froze on Jeremy's face, and Ryan's processors tripped, thinking he'd miscalculated. Then a slight coloring crossed Jeremy's cheeks, and the smile softened, somehow, into something purely organic. Ryan wanted to see more of that.</p>
<p>"Jeremy, I have a favor to ask you..." Jeremy looked tired, but attentive. Being subject to his undivided attention spurred Ryan on. "My diagnostics showed a malfunctioning heat sink. I had the replacement part delivered to the office, but replacing it myself will cause temporary immobility in my right arm." His fingers tugged at the soft fabric of his t-shirt as he gambled on Jeremy’s desire to be useful. "I understand if it's unfair to ask on a Friday night, but..."</p>
<p>Jeremy's expression was grim, resigned. "But everyone else has left already, and you figure I'm better than accidentally getting your hand stuck up your ass?"</p>
<p>"The heat sink is in my chest, but essentially, yeah."</p>
<p>"Hell, not like I had plans anyway."</p>
<p>Ryan hopped up onto the desk, eager in a way he couldn’t quite articulate. The replacement component was still wrapped in the mailer envelope beside him.</p>
<p>“What, don’t you need like, a clean room or something?” Jeremy asked, eyes darting around the Achievement Hunter office's disarray.</p>
<p>Ryan shook his head. “Maybe for my construction, but routine maintenance is fairly contamination-proof.” Not that this was routine, but Jeremy didn't need to hear that. It was true that there was little risk of contamination, as all his internal systems were self-contained. He tossed the package at Jeremy, who fumbled it in a juggle before he grabbed it in a thick fist.</p>
<p>As Jeremy ripped into the packaging, in one awkward motion after another, Ryan pulled his t-shirt over his head.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Jeremy said, faintly pink. “I should’ve, yeah, right, your chest.” He inhaled, as though to speak again, but shook his head.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Jeremy fondled the component in his fingers. "So a heat sink, huh? That's why you've been all..." He gestured vaguely to his own cheeks, and Ryan shook his head, not comprehending. "The whole blushing virgin look."</p>
<p>Ryan touched a hand to his own face. "Have I?"</p>
<p>Jeremy laughed, the sound forced. "Guess you're just overheating."</p>
<p>The heat sink had minimal function at best. Its location, just below his underarm, would be subject to localized overheating longterm, but had no impact on his facial features. Replacing this part was a mere formality, repairing what little damage the shock from the day before had incurred.</p>
<p>So no, Ryan wasn't overheating, he was just blushing. And Jeremy had noticed.</p>
<p>"I'm, uh, going to need to turn my skin off," Ryan said, "to get to the panel on my..." He twirled a finger a few inches in front of the panel in question.</p>
<p>Jeremy looked vaguely nauseous. "Of course you do,” he sighed. “Like, all of it?" His brows drew tight as he looked Ryan over.</p>
<p>Ryan shook his head. "Just on my chest. But it occurred to me that you might find it..."</p>
<p>"Freaky?"</p>
<p>"I was going to say uncomfortable, but that works too."</p>
<p>Jeremy squeezed a whine between his teeth. "Oh man, alright, do it."</p>
<p>Ryan did.</p>
<p>"Yeah, yup, definitely freaky. Okay, let’s get this over with, what do I need to do?"</p>
<p>Ryan reached under his armpit to the nearly-invisible seam between panels, and tried not to think about how he was literally exposing the closest thing he had to a heart to the person in the office who liked him least.</p>
<p>"Uh, so, don't touch my thirium pump. But I can hold the fluid lines to the side. And you’ll be reaching underneath and sorta...behind?"</p>
<p>He could almost pinpoint the millisecond Jeremy lost his nerve. "Whoa, hang on, shouldn't someone else be doing this?" He fidgeted with the heat sink in his hands as he avoided Ryan's gaze. "Gavin—you were gonna teach Gavin this stuff."</p>
<p>Ryan shook his head. "It, uh, it really shouldn't wait."</p>
<p>It could, though, was the thing. None of his crucial systems were in danger because of one minor malfunctioning component, and the risk of compounded damage was minimal. But he...<em>wanted</em> Jeremy to do it.</p>
<p>Jeremy stared at the blue glow of Ryan's thirium pump. "You do that risk analysis thing, right? What are the chances that I break you?"</p>
<p>Ryan frowned. "Do you <em>want</em> to break me?"</p>
<p>"No!" Jeremy said, eyes unsettlingly serious. It was nice to hear, Ryan would admit.</p>
<p>"Then they're small enough."</p>
<p>Three-point-eight percent, for a generous definition of 'break' which ranged from, minimum, incurring additional internal damage. Significantly smaller for the limited definition of ending Ryan's functionality. But Ryan was well aware that some people didn't need to hear the odds.</p>
<p>"Just get over here and stick your hands in me."</p>
<p>"Phrasing."</p>
<p>They both laughed. Jeremy was blushing, and Ryan wondered if he was, too. How could he tell? He didn’t want to rely on Jeremy’s teasing to figure it out, but he also was too unfamiliar with the sensation to recognize it.</p>
<p>"Okay," Jeremy whispered, psyching himself up, hands flexing in a human facsimile of manual calibration.</p>
<p>"I'll cut power to the surrounding area. As soon as I do, I won't be able to move my right arm. You'll reach in, just under my thirium pump, unplug the power cable, and—gently—unseat the heat sink. It should be warm to the touch, but it won't hurt you." Jeremy's lips moved slightly as Ryan spoke, and he realized he was doing his level best to commit Ryan's instruction to memory. "It doesn't have to be quick, so be careful. Uh, and don't touch the heat sink to any metal components. Some of them will be live."</p>
<p>"Great," Jeremy said, "so I'm playing Operation."</p>
<p>Unfamiliar with the game, Ryan used his internal connection to search it, and immediately cringed at the mental sound of the electrical buzzer. "Yeah, that's...yeah." The analogy was apt.</p>
<p>"So then what?"</p>
<p>"I'll instruct you on replacing the component when we get there."</p>
<p>Jeremy shook his head. "Nah-uh. I'm not running the risk of some bullshit 'but first' instruction. Give it all to me." Ryan smiled, surprised. Jeremy was really quite determined, when he applied himself to a task.</p>
<p>He guided Jeremy through the steps necessary, little more than plug and play. The hardest part was going to be correctly seating the heat sink blind—but at least Ryan wouldn't be doing it one-handed.</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm ready." His hands were steady, and he leaned in close to gain a better vantage of Ryan's inner workings.</p>
<p>Ryan reached in with his left hand and held the thirium tubing to the side, and then his entire upper-right side went dark. "Go ahead."</p>
<p>Jeremy braced one hand on Ryan's chest for balance. Ryan was very good at keeping still. His internal accelerometers made micro-adjustments that meant he didn't sway as Jeremy's hand inexpertly moved inside him.</p>
<p>"I didn't realize it would still feel like skin," Jeremy observed, flexing the fingers on Ryan's outer chest.</p>
<p>Ryan nodded. "The material doesn't change, just the holographic images."</p>
<p>Jeremy made a thoughtful sound in the back of his throat. "Does that mean you could change it, like a video game skin?"</p>
<p>Ryan's head tilted as he considered it. It wasn't in his programming to allow a retexture on his external imaging. "I think it's...technically possible, but you'd be fighting a lot of code."</p>
<p>"Bummer. Was hoping I could paint you Rimmy Tim colors."</p>
<p>Ryan wheezed a low laugh in his throat. "Please! Don't make me laugh."</p>
<p>"What, I'm not joking. Paint your arms and legs purple, and orange straight down the middle. It's flawless, nothing could go wrong." There was an audible click as Jeremy unplugged the faulty piece. "Got it."</p>
<p>"You're doing great, Jeremy. Now here comes the tricky part."</p>
<p>"I know, I know." Sweat beaded on his forehead, even though it was a mild 69⁰ Fahrenheit in the room. Jeremy was holding his breath as he worked, only letting out a heavy heave of air as the heat sink cleared Ryan's body.</p>
<p>"Perfect," Ryan praised with a grin.</p>
<p>“Halfway there." Jeremy forcefully shook out his hands, babbling a nonsensical series of syllables, before picking up the replacement part. Jeremy's method of discharging tension was often verbal, Ryan observed. He rotated the heat sink a couple times before aligning it correctly as it would be seated inside Ryan. He glanced up to meet Ryan's eyes, wordlessly asking for confirmation. Ryan nodded. Jeremy immediately turned back to the task at hand.</p>
<p>"So like, this blue thing's your heart, right?"</p>
<p>"Es—sentially." Ryan didn't need systems monitoring to know how hard his risk analysis was working, on Jeremy's words alone.</p>
<p>"What the fuck, man."</p>
<p>Ryan felt what he could only describe as a primal need for context. "Is that a good thing?"</p>
<p>"I just don't get it. Gavin fried you yesterday. And today you’re asking me to perform fucking open-heart surgery on you with zero experience." Jeremy's fingers brushed against a live contact in Ryan's chest, and Ryan gasped.</p>
<p>Ryan was insulated and Jeremy was grounded, but contact was still contact and—</p>
<p>Ryan felt an increase in his internal temperature.</p>
<p>"Did I hurt you?" Jeremy asked, alarmed.</p>
<p>"N-no." It wasn't pain, wasn't even close to the sensation he'd experienced when the electrical shock had passed through him. "No, keep going."</p>
<p>Jeremy sucked in his lower lip, chewing on it as he felt his way around Ryan’s chest. Ryan felt warm and tight in ways that couldn’t be explained by his internal sensors. “I think I found the port.” He pushed his fingertip into the small opening, and Ryan saw static. He must have shivered, because on the outside of Ryan’s chest, Jeremy’s fingers dug in suddenly.</p>
<p>Ryan swallowed hard, his vocal processors tight. “Yep, that’s, that’s it.”</p>
<p>Jeremy wet his lips with his tongue, twisted his wrist, and re-angled the component in his hand so he could pinch the plug into place. The port wasn’t powered; Ryan shouldn’t have been able to feel anything, but the click sent a shiver through his extremities that left him gasping for a breath he didn't need.</p>
<p>“Ryan,” Jeremy said, his voice dark and scolding. “Are you sure you’re alright.” It wasn’t a question.</p>
<p>Ryan didn’t know how to explain that he would endure the pain of being shocked again if it meant he could feel what Jeremy’s hands did to him.</p>
<p>“Seat the heat sink in place and I’ll power it up to make sure it’s calibrated.” It wasn’t an answer.</p>
<p>Jeremy did it anyway, gentle, and careful, and perfect, and even through his pride in Jeremy's efforts, Ryan resented it.</p>
<p>Ryan let go of the tubing in his chest as soon as Jeremy’s hands were clear, and it was like a band had been lifted from his thirium pump. Everything came online in the right sequence, and despite the new component, Ryan felt an odd emptiness he struggled to identify. “Hell of a job, Jeremy.”</p>
<p>“You sure?” he asked with large, concerned eyes, as Ryan closed the panel in his chest, skin textures returning to normal. He stared down at Jeremy’s large, square hands, and shivered with realization—the overwhelming layers of sensation that had enveloped him previously were gone, but Ryan was newly aware of their absence, of Jeremy’s absence. “You’re still looking a little...flushed.”</p>
<p>Flushed. That thin buzz beneath his skin, like electricity, like heat, like a tiny vibration even he couldn’t detect—that was blushing.</p>
<p>“All normal,” he said brightly. He was blushing.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Jeremy said, unsteady. “See you Monday.”</p>
<p>He was blushing because he couldn’t stop thinking about how...pleasurable it had been to be touched by Jeremy.</p>
<p>Ryan had so many diagnostics to run.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've been watching VODs of Ryan playing DBH on stream, and android!Ryan was an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. I expect this will be more of a collection of related short, standalone stories in this fusion-au than it is an ongoing narrative. Rating and tags to change as is applicable.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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